"I was nearly captured once before by a warlock. He disguised himself as a woman lost in the wilderness, and I thought she had been ostracized from her village for some inane reason or another. When I made my presence known to her, I quickly discovered the façade, but it was too late. Casting his spell faster than I could respond, I found myself wrapped in chains of ice and magic," Idrak growled in anger at the memory. "Thankfully, he was young and his spells were long, I had the sand swallow him up before he could finish. I stayed away from humans at that point. I had been told by other djinn that warlocks hunted for our kind, but before that encounter, I didn't believe them. My hubris made me foolish. I had asked myself who or what could be stronger than me, certainly not some half immortal human. But years later was when I met her."
"Met who?" she whispered, she was practically at the edge of her seat at the sudden surge of information.
"I was near the Black Sea when she appeared before me, rising from the water," his tone held a reverence one only used when referring to a god. "There was no need for a greeting, I knew who she was, at that time everyone knew who the witch of the sea was—Calypso. She told me her son was looking for me, and no matter what I did, he would find and capture me. She offered me a deal that day; she told me if I did not kill her worthless bastard, she would grant me with the immunity to avoid ever being captured again."
Nadira stood from her spot against the wooden fence post. She was so riveted by everything he was saying she could hardly keep still. "Did you take the deal?"
He let out a bitter sounding laugh that vibrated the stone around her neck. "Of course not, I told that witch she could fuck off. I should have known by her smile that I was fucked then and there. Oh, I might have talked big in that moment, but that meeting left me wary and overly cautious. I spent decades looking over my shoulder, I thought surely it had all been a trick, a lie even, but I was wrong. He found me in a way I least expected him to."
"How?" she asked breathlessly.
"By using other djinn," he rasped as if the very words were sacrilegious. "The bastard had trapped six others of my kind and used them against me along with his binding magic. The battle was costly, surrounding villages were collateral as we fought, all the while giving the warlock just enough time to recite his spell as I killed my kin."
Horrified, she leaned back against the wooden fence, remembering the timeframe he told her he had been trapped. "So, you have been locked inside the stone for a hundred and thirty-five years?"
"No," he answered. "I told you that was how long I had been sitting there with no one to truly claim the stone, not like you. I was captured around the time the white queen with the hair of fire died."
Nadira sat silent for a moment as she thought of his words. White queen with the hair of fire? A tiny inkling of a thought suggested itself to the forefront of her mind, and she quickly took out her phone and typed in what she hoped had to be a mistake. Queen Elizabeth I, died in 1603! Keeping her shock to herself this time, Nadira pressed her lips together in a firm line as she inwardly gasped at the revelation. Four hundred and seventeen years locked away from the world. She could not conceive of the thought. To have been once powerful and as free as the wind to now be trapped at the whim of someone else was unspeakable.
"Idrak…I…" she wasn't sure what to say.
It was just all so much to take in. Opening her mouth to speak, the sound of her phone ringing cut her off. Reaching for her phone, she intended to ignore the call when she saw the multiple texts from her mother, demanding her presence immediately after class and four more angrily wanting to confirm her demands were heard. Swallowing the lump in her throat she shifted her thoughts to her family, she would need a bit more time to process all of this.
Making her way back to her car, she rubbed the stone with her thumb. "I'm sorry, I promise we will continue talking later."
Chapter 5
Nadira's thoughts were in turmoil.
Walking through the front door, her mother's fierce tone called from the kitchen. "Nadira, hurry up and get in here. Your aunt will be here in an hour."
Why was she even here, Nadira thought? Why did she always listen to her parents' summons? Stepping into the kitchen, she grabbed her apron from inside the pantry closet door and put it on. Reaching for the faucet, she started to wash her hands without thought before moving to the cutting board and vegetables. She should be continuing her conversation with Idrak. Finally, the djinn confided his past to her, and she ran away. Guilt coursed from her heart, pumping into her veins like thick molasses making her whole body feel heavy and slow.
"I want you to finish with the raita and start on the aloo chaat," Chandrii ordered before turning to grab more ingredients from the walk-in pantry.
Finding the stone's shape underneath her shirt, Nadira rubbed the hard surface and whispered an apology. "I promise we will talk soon."
The djinn did not reply.
Lost in her heavy thoughts, Nadira finished the meal just as the doorbell rang. Greeting her aunt with a tired smile, Nadira forced herself to push away her thoughts of the silent djinn and what he shared with her at the beach as she exchanged pleasantries with her aunt. Knowing that the women only wanted her here as a server, Nadira politely stepped away and back into the kitchen and started the hot water for the tea. Setting the large platters of food onto the coffee table, Nadira listened as her aunt, Tanisi, began to brag about her life. Somehow, even more, toxic than her relationship with Nazma, her mother and her aunt's relationship bordered on cruel. Married to a gastrologist, Tanisi's life on the surface was much more in line with what Chandrii envisioned for herself. With a large house and three boys, Tanisi spent her days taking care of the house and family and being constantly rewarded by her doting husband with vacations and new cars every few years.
With everything cooked and served, Nadira rested against the kitchen wall that partitioned the living room from the kitchen as she waited for the water to boil.
"Idrak?" she whispered, keeping her voice well below the volume of her talking aunt and mother.
Again, the djinn said nothing, it was as if she was talking to herself.
Her chest tightened in pain, he was angry with her. Biting the inside of her lip, Nadira dropped her gaze to the floor. There was no reason to panic she reminded herself, of course he would be angry at you right now. Leaving right after someone confessed something personal and painful to you was beyond rude.
"I'm sorry Idrak," she whispered, before pushing away from the wall. She would do her best to mend the rift between them once she was able to go back to her room.
Taking a step towards the now boiling water pot, Nadira froze when she heard her aunt's lowered conspiratorial tone. "So… what are you going to do about Nadira?"